Casing for an electrical clock movement having a cord storage compartment



July 7, 1953 Filed May 21 1949 E. L. BERNINGER EI'AL CASING FOR ANELECTRICAL CLOCK MOVEMENT HAVING A CORD STORAGE COMPARTMENT 2Sheets-Sheet l [It/en Zors:

July 7, 1953 E. L. BERNINGER ET AL 2,644,853

CASING FOR AN ELEGTRICAL CLOCK MOVEMENT I HAVING A CORD STORAGECOMPARTMENT Filed May 21, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 index {0715 I Ernest LEernzzzyer flale Z. Zzrbards Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CASING FOR AN ELECTRICAL CLOCK MOVE- MENT HAVING A CORD STORAGECOM- PARTMEN T ware Application May 21, 1949, Serial No. 94,636

Claims. 1

The present invention relates to an electric clock and in particular toan electric clock wherein any desired portion of the electric cord maybe contained inside of the clock case.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a clock in which thepurchaser need only pull from the clock case the length of cordnecessary to reach an electric outlet while the remainder of the cordremains in the clock case. By means of this invention unsightly danglingcords are eliminated without the necessity of cutting said cord.

For many years electric clocks have been packed by manufacturers with acord about five and one-half feet long folded in a skein and packedalongside of or under said clock. When the purchasermounts said clock ona wall or table the cord is usually longer than necessary to reach theelectrical outlet. The purchaser is then faced with the choice ofleaving the cord dangling where it may be accidentally pulled out of theelectrical outlet or he must cut the cord to the desired length andsecure a new plug to the cord. It is not usually possible to move theplug that is furnished with the clock cord because it is molded on thecord and cannot be detached except by cutting said cord. Furthermore, ifthe purchaser wishes to mount the clock on a special clock outlet wherethe clock is placed directly over said outlet it is always necessary tocut the cord and mount a new plug so that the excess cord will not show.

An object of this invention is to provide an electric clock that may besold to the consumer with the cord contained entirely in the clock casewith only the plug protruding.

It is another object of this invention to provide an electric clockwherein the consumer may pull out as much of the cord as he desires fromsaid clock case and later return a portion of said cord to the clockcase without the use of tools and without detaching any portion of saidclock.

A further object of this invention is to provide an electric clock thatwill be of simple and economical construction and will save packingspace since the cord is inside of the clock case when said clock ispackaged.

Another object is to provide means whereby the cord may be contained inthe clock case without interfering with the clock movement.

With these and other objects in view, the invention embodies a clockhaving a compartment in the clock case in which the electric cord iscontained separated from the clock movement and cord guides whereby saidcord may be pulled from the clock case or returned to the clock case bymerely pulling or pushing on the cord.

In a preferred embodiment the invention will be described in a wallclock although it is also useful for table and mantle clocks.

Fig. 1 is an elevational view partially in crosssection showing a clockmounted on a standard clock receptacle on a wall.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the back of the clock with the backcover removed and showing a portion of the cord inside of said clock.

Fig. 3 is a top elevational view of the grommet through which the cordenters the clock case.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of said grommet.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the cord guide removed from theclock case.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of said cord guide.

Fig. 7 is a bottom elevational view of said cord guide.

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the back of the clock case taken online 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a front elevational view of one type of standard clockreceptacle taken on the line 99 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the back cover of the clock casetaken on the line l0-l0 of Fig. 8.

Referring now to the drawings wherein, like reference characters denotecorresponding parts, the improved clock of this invention includes aclock case II to which is secured a plate I2. Mounted on the front ofsaid plate are the dial and hands (not shown) and on the back of saidplate is mounted a synchronous motor clock movement 13. The clockmovement is conventional and, therefore, will not be described indetail. Secured to said plate [2 are two pillars [4 to which a backcover I5 is fastened by screws.

The electrical cord I6 is connected to the coil of the synchronous motorand may be knotted about one of the pillars l4 so that no strain can beplaced on the electrical connection.

Also mounted on the plate I2 is a cord guide I! that separates the clockcasing into a movement compartment and a cord compartment. The cordguide IT, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, may conveniently be formed of asingle piece of metal bent to form a generally vertical arm l8 and agenerally horizontal arm l9. As shown mounted in Fig. 2 the cord guideis bent to form a V, having its apex toward the right side and formingan angle of the order of degrees. A second V is formed with arm l9 atthe bottom of the clock to include an angle of about 50 degrees.

From the front to the back of the clock arm is slopes toward the centerand arm 19 slopes away from the center. The front edge 20 of the arm I8,as shown in Fig. 7, is level and is mounted flush with front plate Theextreme end of horizontal arm l9 has a reverse bend so that it touchesthe inside of clock case M.

The back edge Si! or the arm it lies in close proximity to the backcover l when said cover is in place. A part of the arm in is cut away inorder to provide space for the depressed portion.

24 of the back plate which will be described later.

It will thus be seen, as shown in Fig. 2, that the cord guide ll, theright side of the clock case i l, the back cover i5, and the plate Itenclose a cord compartment 22 from which the cord It cannot escape tointerfere with the clock movement l3.

As also shown in Fig. 2, the front edge of the V formed by arms is andI9 is positioned directly behind a grommet 2| placed in an opening inthe back cover iii. If a portion of the cord is pushed in the directionof the arrows of Fig. 2, it will move through grommet 2!, contact thecord guide ll and tend to move along arm 58 toward the top of the case.The portion of the cord already in the clock and that being pushed intend to form a wide loop near the top of the 3 case. As more cord ispushed in, another wide loop may be formed near the bottom of the case.The shape of the guide directs the cord into wide loops and kinking isprevented. Additional loops will be formed as long as cord is pushedthrough grommet 2|. It is contemplated that the com-- partment 22 willbe large enough to hold the entire cord doubled back and forth in thisfashion so that only the plug 25 will remain on the out" side of thecase.

The back cover it is provided with a slot that may be of the shape shownin order that the clock can be hung on a headed nail or hook. The backcover may be a plane surface ii the clock is to be used with anelectrical receptacle positioned below the clock with the cord leadingdownward from grommet 2!. However, if the clock is to be mounted on aclock receptacle 2", as shown in Fig. 1, it is preferable to provide theback cover with a depressed portion 24 in which a section of the cordwill lie when doubled back toward the center of the clock. Clockreceptacles 0f the type shown are manufactured by several electricalsuppliers. By using such a receptacle the clock may be mounted flushwith the wall since only a small portion of the plug projects from saidreceptacle. As was stated above, with out the use of the presentinvention it is necessary to cut the cord to about four inches in orderto use such a clock receptacle for otherwise the excess cord would hangbelow the clock. However, with the present invention the owner merelypulls suiiicient cord from the clock case to reach the receptacle andthe remainder is left inside of the clock case.

The grommet 2! is specially formed to co-act with the cord guide. It ismade of insulating material and shaped to guide the cord into the cordguide IT and also to make it possible to bring the cord straight downfrom the clock or double it back as shown in Fig. 1. The grommet is L-shaped with an oval opening 29 in the vertical arm 2'! and a U-shapedopening in the horizontal arm 28. It is held in place in an opening inthe back cover by the contact of said. cover with a shoulder in thegrommet. A slot is provided in the bottom of the clock case in which thehorizontal arm of the grommet slides. It will be seen from examinationof Figs. 1 and 2 that the cord. may be bent either up or down withoutcon tacting any sharp edge of the clock case or the 4 clock back. Thereis sufficient friction between the cord and the grommet 2| and. the cordand. the guide I! so that said cord will not fall through the grommet byits own weight. However, a slight pull is sufiicient to pull the cordfrom the clock.

When assembled at the factory, the assembler may either loop the cordback and forth and place it in the cord compartment before the backcover if; is mounted or, if more convenient, the assembler may mount theback cover with most of the cord outside of the clock and then push thecord into the clock by merely pushing in the direction of the arrow ofFig. 2. The clock is then packed in a box with only the plug showingoutside of the clock. A smaller box can be used than was possible beforesince no space need be left in the box for the cord skeinv When thepurchaser mounts the clock, he merely pulls as much cord as is desiredfrom the case. If he pulls out too much he returns the excess to thecase by pushing on the cord in the direction of the arrow. No tools arenecessary and no part of the clock need be removed for this operation.The customer can mount the clock where he pleases without any unsightlydangling cord and Without any further operation on the cord.

It will be understood that the clock described is merely a preferredembodiment and that modifications may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

What is claimed is:

1. In a device having an electrical clock movement with an electric cordconnected thereto the combination comprising a case having an open ingthrough which said cord passes and having a front plate and a backplate, a separating member positioned in said case and extending fromthe front plate to the back plate for separating said case into amovement compartment and a substantially closed cord compartment, saidmember having stationary means to guide said cord into loops in saidcord compartment when said cord is manually pushed into said opening.

2. In a device having an electrical clock movement with an electricalcord attached thereto,

the combination comprising a, case having a front plate and a back platewith an opening through which said cord passes; and a cord guide havingone arm extending from the front plate to the back plat and dividingsaid case into a movement compartment and a cord compartment, and havinga second arm extending 'at'an acute angle with said first arm to form avalley which slopes from the back plate toward the front plate, saidguide being positioned with the head of said valley behind the openingin the back plate so that the electric cord is directed toward the frontplate and into said cord compartment when said cord is pushed throughsaid openmg.

3. In a device having an electrical clock movement with an electricalcord attached thereto, the combination comprising a case, a movementsupporting plate secured to said case, a back enclosing the rear of saidcase and having an opening through which said cord passes, a cord. guidehaving one arm extending substantially across said case to divide itinto a movement portion and a cord portion and having a second armextending at an angle from said first arm to form a valley behind saidopening to guide said cord into the cord portion of said case.

4. In a device having an electrical clock movement with an electricalcord attached thereto, the combination comprising a case, a front platefor said case, a back enclosing the rear of said case and having anopening through which said cord passes; a guide member having an armextending across said case to one side of the center thereof with oneedge adjacent the front plate and the other edge adjacent the back,thereby forming a substantially enclosed cord compartment bounded by thecase, front plate, the back and said guide member; said guide memberhaving a second arm extending at an acute angle with said first arm toform a valley, said valley being positioned adjacent said cord opening50 that said cord is guided along said valley and into said cordcompartment when it is pushed through said opening.

5. In a device having an electrical clock movement with an electricalcord attached thereto, the combination including a case having anopening for said cord, a front plate, a back plate, a stationary cordguide dividing said case into a movement portion and a cord portion,said guide having an arm extending across said case, said arm being bentnear its mid point to form a V with th apex pointing away from the casecenter; and having a second arm joined to said first arm to form avalley that slopes toward said front plate and toward the apex of saidV, said guide being positioned with said valley behind said cord openingso that a cord pushed through said opening and into said case followsdown said valley toward said front plate and is formed into a series ofloops in said cord portion.

ERNEST L. BERNINGER. DALE L. RICHARDS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 2,007,699 Wiebking July 9, 1935 2,118,731 Knott May 24, 19382,184,363 Schultz et al Dec. 26, 1939 2,265,451 Ripley et a1 Dec. 9,1941 2,432,416 Haydon Dec. 9, 1947 2,470,320 Page May 17, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 114,609 Austria Oct. 15, 1929

